Comedian Leah Lamarr chatted about her new live show, NFTs, which runs through August 28 during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland.
Dubbed “the queen of Clubhouse” by comedian Joe Rogan, Lamarr rose to prominence in 2020 after joining the then-private social audio app, Clubhouse, serving as the (literal) face of the app’s mobile icon.
Her premiere Clubhouse comedy venue – “Hot on the Mic” – led to future headlining gigs at various comedy clubs, as well as the prestigious New York Comedy Festival (2021) alongside Bill Burr, Nick Kroll, Tim Dillon, and Colin Quinn. She has also been hired as the opening act for Dane Cook, Chris Redd, Russell Peters, and Erik Griffin in their live performances.
Labeled as one of the “freshest, raunchiest stand-up comedians on the stage,” Lamarr performs hilarious bits on life, sex, COVID-19, and Web3 in what is now a preview for the material on Lamarr’s first special taping.
Describing her newest show, NFTs, Lamarr told Digital Journal that it is “half stand-up, half theater, and part immersive insanity.”
“The show is a combination of comedy and drama, or as I like to call it – Traumedy. NFTs is about the necessary evil of social media – the one thing that made me successful, is also the thing that makes me crazy. I think this message is relatable to everyone.”
She emphasized our culture’s addiction to phones, social media, and overall instant gratification.
“It’s a continual desire to be seen, heard, and admired by everyone. There’s a little social media demon that lives inside all of us – this validation monster in me thrives off social media and dies on it. My show explores what it’s like to delve into the moment behind the ‘highlight’ post – to show what’s really going on behind the scenes.”
Since the beginning of August, Lamarr has been performing anywhere from 1 to 3 shows a night, shaping her material towards the Scottish audience, which she says is “completely different from an American audience.”
“They’ll really make you work for the laugh, but they’ll also laugh harder than any audience I’ve ever had,” she says. “I’ve learned a lot about UK politics, the differences in religion and strife – between Northern Ireland and Ireland, and that Scotland is still in Europe, but not a member to the European Union.”
She told this journalist that while many industry greats including Robin Williams, Chris Rock, Tiffany Haddish, Ali Wong, and Dave Chappelle have all inspired her in many different ways – Joan Rivers stands out most.
“[She] was ground-breaking in many ways, but most of all, for women in comedy,” she explained. “Joan paved the way for women to not only be on a stage, but also to speak their minds and not be afraid of pushing boundaries. I’ll always love Joan’s sense of fashion and ability to roast like no one else. I was able to guest host a few episodes of E!’s “What the Fashion,” and I was honored to roast fashion à la Joan.”
With nearly 600,000 followers across social media, Lamarr has continued to leverage her Clubhouse success as a leader in the Web3 space – combining her passions for technology, comedy, and art, merging them into one hilarious and non-fungible piece of stand-up comedy and theater.
“Performing during the Fringe Festival, the biggest arts festival in the world has been both an honor and an eye-opening experience. Having the opportunity to perform for an international audience, while learning how to also edit my material to appeal to an international audience has been a fantastic lesson that I wish I had learned sooner,” she concluded.
To learn more about stand-up comedian Leah Lamarr, visit her official website or purchase tickets to her ongoing tour at Edfringe.
